Buying a Planner

[contemporary art]

We are looking to buy a new Powermatic planner, model #201, 22" wide with a helical head. Has anyone used this model and is the helical head worth it? And does anyone know if there is any comperable planner to this one?

[Don]

Hey, Art. Sounds like you are looking at a Cadillac. I don't know about the specific model but I'm sure any 22" wide Powermatic will be a good machine.

A helical head is worth the money in my opinion, but you really have to consider the amount of usage. Benefits of a helical head can be - much quieter - Less power needed to run - less tear-out of grain - much easier knife replacement - a nicked knife simply means rotating the cutting tool, replacing a damaged tool is cheaper than an entire blade, always have fresh knives available, no sending out for sharpening, consistent replacement knives.

There are a couple of drawbacks, expense for one, if you mix different manufacturers for tools then you may have lines on your stock, this could happen anyway, may take a little longer to do a complete change-out - always have a couple of boxes of replacement screws, if one shows any damage at all in the area of the hex key, discard it, you don't ever want to have to drill one out and risk head damage.

Almost everybody offers helical heads now, they are beneficial and up til now the machining of these heads have been too expensive. One of these heads years ago would have been worth more than the planer.

All the best, Don

[woodman43]

If its a Powermatic and you can afford it, it would be my choice.

[bbiehl]

We are looking to buy a new Powermatic planner, model #201, 22" wide with a helical head. Has anyone used this model and is the helical head worth it? And does anyone know if there is any comperable planner to this one?

I just got a Powermatic 8" jointer with helical heads. Only have about 30 minutes on it so far but it works great. I hadn't used a jointer for 20 years or so, but this seems to cut much better with less noise than the regular blades. I ordered the Powermatic 15" planer, but haven't gotten it yet; will let you know how it works later.

-brian

[bogydave]

Fine woodworking Tools & shops Annual issue has "the best new planers"
but thy are the small 13" wide Max.
All have snipe issues.

[Terry Mac]

If its a Powermatic and you can afford it, it would be my choice.


Agree with Woodman. Although if you could find an old Parks Planner and restore it, it would be worthwhile.

[c.demille]

I've used both a helical head planner and non-helical. The helical head is so much nicer and quieter. I think the noise difference alone makes it worth it. The planner without the helical head was extremely loud.